If I Had A Hammer

April 10, 2015 inspiringmax

If you could learn a trade — say carpentry, electrical work, roofing, landscaping, plumbing, flooring, drywall — you name it — what skill(s) would you love to have in your back pocket?

Like father, like daughter.

If I had a hammer I would develop my creative streak in woodwork. My father used to teach woodwork at high school and I loved it on rainy weekend days when we could go to the school with him and create something.

I enjoyed it so much that when it came time to select subjects for 2nd form—I wanted to choose woodwork. Unfortunately, it was the mid 1970’s and I was not allowed. Dad’s friend who would have taught me had he been allowed understood my desire and previous experience but it didn’t help. Girls did cooking and sewing. Boys did woodwork and metal work. Both could do art. I don’t know when this changed in Australian schools but I am very pleased it has.

When I was younger and living alone—under dad’s guidance I did several jobs around my home and even had my own tool kit. Not something at the time many of my female friends could say or were interested in. When I retire and have time on my hands I would love to learn how to turn wood and create fancy items. Today my spare time is taken up with writing and blogging but one day my dream will come. For me there is a sense of pride in putting my feet up and admiring something that not only have I made but also planned and designed. I love originals and have been given many presents by dad made and designed from wood for me. They are my treasured possessions and always bring a smile to my face—thanks Dad.

It is nice to know that Peter, Paul and Mary song that I loved so much as a child has brought a hammer of justice to girls and boys learning any subject they choose at school. Who knows had I been allowed to study woodwork in high school my life may have been very different.

https://youtu.be/VaWl2lA7968

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/hammer/

F – Fantastic News

April 8, 2015 inspiringmax

You get some incredibly, amazingly, wonderfully fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?

I am assuming from this prompt that the incredibly, amazingly, wonderful fantastic news is mine to tell—if not I would keep their secret.

If it is mine, initially I would say thank you to my angels and spend some time enjoying the moment—connecting with everything I was feeling in my body and head. The more exciting my news—the more I would plan my sharing. Super exciting news requires time for self rejoicing, planning, dreaming and working out what it means before sharing my news with the world including my immediate family.

Once I had worked through my news, I would plan a special dinner that evening for the family and share my news with them in person. I love to see the responses on their faces particularly if the news related to something I know they thought I truly was dreaming about. I tend to be the believer in the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction and not everyone shares my thoughts. I love examples of it working in my life.

Once we had celebrated—with a fancy champagne—my husband and I would work out a plan to share my news with the rest of the family—parents and siblings. This would mostly involve ringing them individually or sending a text if time poor although sometimes a road trip may be in order to tell them personally.

Only after all of these options had been completed and if I decided my news was suitable for a public billboard would I post a status update to Facebook. My personal boundaries stop me announcing anything and everything to the world without careful consideration.

Through blogging I have become more comfortable with my online presence however I don’t want any surprises. If appropriate, to complete my celebrations and take it to a new level I would write a blog post and see where that takes me.The advantage of celebrating through a blog post is that you get to celebrate many times over as people read the blog posts in their own time.

Bring on the fantastic news—I love to celebrate.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/supercalifragilisticexpialidocious/

#A-Z Challenge

Mistakes

April 4, 2015 inspiringmax

Write an entire post without using three-letter words.

Everyone makes mistakes. These mistakes teach us lessons about ourselves that allow us to grow. Think of these lessons as gifts from life. Some people find keeping a list of lessons learnt helpful. They’re a visible reminder that helps keep us focused on moving forward to reach goals.

Edison failed 10,000 times before he invented a light globe. He doesn’t describe these attempts as failures however as 10,000 ways they don’t work.

By re-framing your words, it is possible to change your thinking. Life is full of lessons—we choose at what speed we acknowledge them. Remember they help us to develop personally as well as professionally.

Do not be afraid to take a risk. Take on challenges, learn by your mistakes adding to your repertoire of things known.

***

I found this challenge tricky. I noticed that it changed my voice considerably because my style is made up of small words—mainly with three letters. It certainly made me think which took me from my comfort zone—teaching me some lessons as I went.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/three-letter-words/

My Voice

April 3, 2015 inspiringmax

How do you communicate differently online than in person, if at all? How do you communicate emotion and intent in a purely written medium?

Communication is key. It is at the centre of everything we do. To me all forms of communication need to be consistent—written, verbal and body language. How I communicate is my brand. Working in mental health I nurture moving forward, making changes to encourage growth—both in myself and others.

Several years ago I did not realise how different my written and spoken word naturally were. I had just begun writing my book and given my first draft chapters to my collaborator. After reading them her response was—”the information is great but it needs to be in your voice that is what people connect with.” She was right. My written word was stiff and formal. It didn’t flow and wasn’t welcoming. This was a pivotal point in my writing career long before I started blogging. The way I communicate orally and in writing work when they are the same. My writing voice needed to change.

Now everything thing I write except formal work document as based on a conversational tone—my natural voice. I don’t use the shortened text message for of communication—I don’t like it. If I am writing a text message I write it exactly as I would ask it—clear and concise—so there is no misunderstanding. When using emotion and intent I describe the situation using the writing formula—show don’t tell.

If I am unsure how to phrase a sentence in my voice I memorise the sentence and re write it how I remember it. From my experience this puts it in the order I say it. This is particularly helpful when I am writing speeches. I rarely use long complicated sentences—they confuse me. I like easy to understand communication—in life and on-line.

My experience is by using this method even when I need to say difficult things they are taken well and the change I want is nurtured without the other person getting defensive. My aim is to respect all people I interact with—known or unknown—bringing inspiration and positivity into their world and hopefully brightening their day.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/its-a-text-text-text-text-world/

Inspiration, Knowledge and Travels

April 1, 2015 inspiringmax

Often, our blogs have taglines. But what if humans did, too? What would your tagline be?

I believe humans do have taglines. Everything we say and do is our tagline—what people know us by. We can edit our blog posts to ensure they match our theme. However in our life blog posts the editing process requires more effort and pain is often attached to the changes. Life with our blogs trialing new things and sometimes making big changes brings greater rewards. This can be the same in life. Like in the old adage—no pain, no gain.

For me the similarities between myself and my blog continue. I would choose a similar tagline. My blogs tagline is inspiration through my thoughts, experiences and travels. My life’s tagline would be inspiration, knowledge and travels.

I am a positive person working in mental health. Everything I do is about encouraging myself and others to look on the bright side—developing a spark of hope into a fire that warms you and lights your path and become the best possible version of oneself.

My main areas to focus on include:

Inspiration—stories, quotes, songs, words, books, movies
Knowledge—eating disorder recovery, mental health, parenting, public speaking, life skills
Travels—Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/tagline/

Wonder Woman

March 31, 2015 inspiringmax

If you were involved in a movie, would you rather be the director, the producer, or the lead performer? (Note: you can’t be the writer!).

I love acting. Bringing characters to life and making them believable. Acting allows you to totally immerse yourself in the character and find things about yourself you didn’t know existed.

It has been many decades since I last acted but who knows I may return to it in my retirement when I have more time on my hands.

My greatest acting moment was playing Wonder Woman to a crowded theatre. At the time I didn’t look to bad either—unfortunately I don’t think I have any photos to remember it by.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-show-must-go-on/

My CODES

March 30, 2015 inspiringmax

Have you got a code you live by? What are the principles or set of values you actively apply in your life?

I live my life according to my personal values. They are at the centre of everything I do and are the basis of my motto—be the best version of yourself possible but do no harm to yourself or others. My personal values can be described as my CODES and include:

C

Calmness, Carefulness, Challenge, Commitment, Community, Confidence, Connection, Courage, Courtesy, Continuity, Compromise, Comfort and Change.

O

Open-mindedness. Optimism, Order, Originality and Outdoors.

D

Dependability, Desire, Determination, Dignity, Dreaming, Direction and Diligence.

E

Empathy, Encouragement, Endurance, Enthusiasm, Ethics, Excellence, Experience, Expertise, Expressiveness, Ease, Efficiency, Envision and Exploration.

S

Safety, Self-control, Security, Self-reliability, Self-respect, Sensitivity, Sharing, Silence, Simplicity, Spirituality, Stability, Support and Spontaneity.

Whenever I am thinking whether a decision is right for me—I consult my CODES. If it fits into any of my above values, I will consider the option further. If it doesn’t fit—the answerer is a definite NO!

My CODES simplify my life.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/i-walk-the-line/

10,000 Views

March 27, 2015 inspiringmax

Tell us about a time things came this close to working out… but didn’t. What happened next? Would you like the chance to try again, or are you happy with how things eventually worked out?

Inspiring Max was born on Mother’s day—12th May 2014. I knew nothing about blogging but thought I would give it a go anyway. As a self-hosted blog, I soon realised I had a lot to learn about how I was different to other WordPress.com sites. It was a very slow process. I was frustrated. In July, after completing Blogging 101 I had—34 views, 13 visitors and only 1 follower. So I stopped blogging and prioritised other things.

In late August I was off work sick for a week. I had nothing to do so I popped back to my site. To my surprise I had a few followers, several more views and an Inspiring Blogger Award. I was humbled and excited. Suddenly I got it. Blogging is a long-term journey—a commitment not only to yourself, but also every one who reads you blog. We all grow together and allow each other to reach our own individual goals. By the end of December 2014, my goal was 100 followers. I ended the year with 110 followers and now I have 335. It may have been a slow start but Inspiring Max is on the move.

Somewhere around September I learnt not to focus on the followers but the views. If people were regularly viewing more than one page of my work I was happy. This usually meant they would come back again. The more I connect with my blogging community—the more they connect with me. I view 3 new blogs a day that I interact with. As a result, I am excited to have been viewed by people in 105 countries—many of whom I didn’t know existed. I love the coloured in world map of where Inspiring Max has been.

My advice to bloggers is make sure you have great content and keep going. When you are discouraged visit new blogs. Connect with your community at every opportunity and overtime—your community will connect with you. Blogging is a rewarding experience that has allowed me to grow in ways I would have never imagined possible before. Thank you for sharing my journey. I look forward to our future together. To celebrate I offer you a virtual glass champagne instead of a cigar.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/but-no-cigar/

Play

March 25, 2015March 25, 2015 inspiringmax

Draft a post with three parts, each unrelated to the other, but create a common thread between them by including the same item — an object, a symbol, a place — in each part.

“Mum can we go yet, I want to play?”

“Who or what do you want to play with, Sandy?”

“I want to play with Mary.”

“Mary is visiting her family in Queensland so that is not possible.”

“Yes it is mum she has her mum’s I-pad.”

“Sorry Sandy, remember yesterday I said during the day you play outside while the weather is good.”

“Okay mum I forgot.”

Practical and fun

Life’s building blocks

Alternate way of learning

Your friend

Last night I went to see the new play in town. Great story and the characters were so real. Initially I didn’t want to go but I went as a favour to my friend. She was worried nobody would go. Wrong. It was a sell out crowd and the critics loved it. Simply titled—PLAY—it is the story behind the importance of playing in our adult life as well as our childhood. So when you get the chance don’t forget to play.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/weaving-the-threads/

Pros And Cons List

March 23, 2015 inspiringmax

Write about a time you had a Goldilocks experience, exploring different choices and finally arriving at “just right.”

Our choices shape our lives. But how do we make the right choice—when so many are available. One helpful way I have found to make any decision is to draw up a pros and cons list for each choice.

Take a piece of paper and divide it in half. On one side write your reasons for doing the activity, behaviour or change (the pros) and on the other side write your reasons not to do it or why it won’t work (the cons). Be creative. Even ideas that seem silly or far-fetched can be helpful in the big picture when you make a plan around them.

Once you have your lists—see how balanced or unbalanced they are. Sometimes it may be immediately obvious which choice is right for you. On other occasions—you may find yourself more confused. No problem. Hang your lists in your room or somewhere you can see them regularly for a couple of days. Focus on each option. Does one draw you in more than the others?

If you struggle to choose which option is right for you—give yourself a challenge. Try the most positive one or the option that will give you the biggest reward on completion. Remember, if this choice don’t work—you can always adjust it slightly to make it more practical. Break it down into smaller steps if needed but keep moving forward with your choices. Sometimes— just right— takes a little while to feel comfortable, but when it does it fits beautifully.